Spectris (LON:SXS) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Spectris plc (LON:SXS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,285.58 ($29.55) and last traded at GBX 2,304 ($29.79), with a volume of 400832 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,318 ($29.97).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SXS shares. Berenberg Bank decreased their target price on shares of Spectris from GBX 3,180 ($41.11) to GBX 3,000 ($38.78) and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Spectris in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of GBX 3,765 ($48.67).

Spectris Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of £2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 2,761.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 2,636.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.37.

Spectris (LON:SXS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported GBX 148.10 ($1.91) earnings per share for the quarter. Spectris had a return on equity of 20.13% and a net margin of 20.44%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Spectris plc will post 194.7972456 earnings per share for the current year.

Spectris Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of GBX 56.60 ($0.73) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from Spectris’s previous dividend of $26.60. Spectris’s payout ratio is presently 30.00%.

Insider Activity at Spectris

In other news, insider Andrew Heath sold 8,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,532 ($32.73), for a total value of £224,031.36 ($289,633.30). Also, insider Derek Harding sold 22,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,420 ($31.29), for a total value of £546,363.40 ($706,352.17). Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 17 shares of company stock worth $46,134. Company insiders own 1.21% of the company’s stock.

About Spectris

The experts in providing insight through precision measurement.

Our purpose is to deliver value beyond measure – going beyond just the measurement.

Precision is at the heart of what we do. Spectris provides global customers with specialist insight through our high-tech instruments and test equipment, augmented by the power of our software.

Through a combination of our hardware, analytical and simulation software, we provide our customers with superior data and invaluable insights that enable them to work faster, smarter and more efficiently.

This equips them with the ability to reduce time to market, improve processes, quality and yield.